


All of a Sudden

by playitagain



Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst, Character Death, Fluff, M/M, modern!AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-02
Updated: 2015-05-26
Packaged: 2018-03-20 23:16:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3668820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/playitagain/pseuds/playitagain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It comes as a surprise when Sasuke, currently in his third year of college, is taking care of Itachi's daughter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sudden Change

**Author's Note:**

> It starts off sad, but I swear it will get better. It was originally planned to be a oneshot, but I decided just to post it in small parts because it wasn't flowing well as a oneshot. It simply worked better as separate chapters.

This is not how Sasuke imagined this would happen. He wasn’t even sure if he wanted kids at this point in his life, but if he did than he wanted to have them either after he was settled in a job with a decent income or after he settled down with someone after years of dating. The plan definitely didn’t involve being a junior in college with a boyfriend of two months and years of schooling still ahead of him. 

He hadn’t expected that it would come with grieving his brother either. 

That was probably the hardest part.

He had been honored when Itachi asked him to be the godfather of his little girl. Yeah, he knew what that entailed, but he hadn’t expected any of that to ever happen. Of course, if his parents were still alive, they would get Itachi’s daughter, but they weren’t, so that meant that it was up to Sasuke unless he wanted her to go into foster care, but that is not something he would wish upon anyone. 

The call had come while he was studying for a final and after a lot of conversations with his professors he was allowed to finish them at a later date. Then, Takara came. He was currently living in a small one bedroom apartment off campus and the cramped living space didn’t give him any place to put a proper bed for a four year old girl. It left him with the little girl sleeping in his twin size bed and him on the uncomfortable couch.

It had hard planning Itachi’s funeral. He hadn’t been prepared for it. It came with not only a lot of planning, but he had to settle finances and get all of Itachi’s things in order. Also, he wasn’t sure if he should clean the house that Itachi lived in out or move and live there himself. There should be enough money for Sasuke to afford the place while he goes to school.

Naruto had been understanding, accompanying him to many of the meetings or watching Takara while he was going to a meeting. Naruto came to the wake and stood firmly behind Sasuke, hand grazing him hip every once and a while to make sure Sasuke was okay. The little four year old stood next to him, holding his hand firmly without much of an idea what was happening. 

That was one of the hardest parts. Takara hadn’t been sure what was happening the first few nights. She simply thought that her father went on a business trip and she was staying with Sasuke for a while. It wouldn’t be the first time. After a few days she started to ask when Itachi was coming back. It broke Sasuke’s heart to tell her that he wasn’t going to come back. It ended with a crying Takara in his arms and him hiding his tear stained cheeks in her hair so she didn’t see him crying as well. 

It was a few days after the funeral when Sasuke decided that he would move into the house. It was only ten minutes away from campus (Sasuke hadn’t wanted to go far when he went off to school) and it would be a lot easier than moving all of the stuff and worrying about what to keep and sell. Plus, he had to move anyway. Takara had taken over Sasuke’s bed and he had a few too many nights sleeping on the couch if his back has any say in this. 

Naruto had offered to help move him around. He didn’t need some of the bigger things from his apartment like his bed, desk and a lot of his kitchen wear. Naruto had taken most of it down to the foster home he grew up in and helped Sasuke pack up the rest of the things. Kiba offered his truck to move the material. It took a few days, but it wasn’t as hard as Sasuke had thought

He just hadn’t expected to find Naruto’s stuff all over his room (It was the guest room. He couldn’t bear living in Itachi’s). With a confused look, he turned toward the blond, who simply give him a sheepish smile, fingers moving to rub the back of his neck in that way he always does.

“I know you told me that you could handle her, but I want to help,” Naruto explains. It’s barely been three months now and Sasuke hadn’t planned on moving in with Naruto any time soon. They hadn’t even had sex yet because they promised at the beginning of the relationship they would take it slow per Sasuke’s request. This was all so new to him and he wasn’t sure he could handle it. “I can stay in another room, if you want.”

“You shouldn’t stay at all. I don’t need your help. It’s my brother’s child. You only met Itachi on one occasion.” He just didn’t understand why Naruto would want to give up on his life like this. Takara would get attached and he wouldn’t leave even if he wanted to for the little girl. He’d probably give up on Sasuke at some point, because Sasuke was difficult. Naruto shouldn’t give up a full life of new experiences because Sasuke’s brother died. 

“Look, I know you think this is a bad idea, but-”

“There are no buts, Naruto. This is a bad idea. What if you don’t want to stay with me but Takara is too attached so you don’t want to leave either? You’re going to resent me if you stay.” 

Naruto’s initial reply is a kind smile and arms easily slipping around Sasuke’s waist to pull him closer. There are fingers in his hair now, stroking in the way Naruto knows helps Sasuke calm down. “I’ve known since freshman year that we were meant to be together. I’ve loved you since sophomore year when you helped me with my biology midterm and spent eight hours dumbing everything down so I would understand it. I want to be with you, even if that means we’re jumping a little quickly into this.”

“But-”

“I’m not going to take no for an answer. It’s either I stay in here or I move to a different room in the house. I’m not going back to my dorm room.”

When Naruto pulls away enough so Sasuke can see his blue eyes, he doesn’t miss the emotion swirling in those depths. Sasuke has found that he could drown in those blue eyes and simply stare at them forever. Not to mention the emotion shining through. There is love and devotion and determination and Sasuke can’t say no. He knows this is a bad idea. It’s too soon, but he decided a long time ago that he was in love with this idiot and no matter how much he wanted to push Naruto away, he knew Naruto wouldn’t budge. 

“You can take the couch,” Sasuke tells him. The smile that pulls up Naruto’s lips is definitely worth it, especially when he can feel that smile again his own lips. 

Of course, there isn’t much time to kiss, because Takara comes bolting up the stairs asking for dinner. She even calls Naruto ‘Uncle Naruto’ when she tugs on his sleeve to pull him toward the stairwell. Naruto laughs, eyes shining bright as he looks back at Sasuke.

Sasuke thinks he might be able to get through this with Naruto’s help.


	2. Tough Times

Sasuke can tell Naruto isn’t enjoying the couch much. The way he rolls his shoulders in the morning and the bags under his eyes tells Sasuke that the couch isn’t doing nice things for his back or neck. There’s another bed in the house, but it was Itachi’s and Naruto is nice enough to not ask for that room. 

Naruto doesn’t complain about the bed or anything really. He greets Sasuke with a smile and a kiss on the cheek every morning before slipping past Sasuke to take a shower and get ready for the day. 

\----------------------

The first few weeks there is a lot of tip toeing around each other and avoiding contact on Sasuke’s part.

Sasuke said he would try not to push Naruto away, but he can’t seem to keep his word. When Naruto asks him a question, Sasuke snaps at him. When Naruto touches him, even in the most innocent of ways, Sasuke brushes him off. When Naruto asks him for help with homework, he brushes him off and says Takara needs him for something. 

He sees the hurt flashing in Naruto’s blue eyes even though Naruto tries to cover it up with a forced smile assuring Sasuke that it’s okay. Sasuke feels bad only moments later, but he can’t seem to bring himself to apologize or change his behavior. 

Everything just changed so fast and he isn’t handling it well. 

It doesn’t help that Naruto is the only one he could take his frustrations out on. Takara barely understands what is happening and Sasuke doesn’t have anyone else around but Naruto. It leads to a lot of tension -mostly annoyed on Sasuke’s part - between the two males.

On top of Takara, he still has to keep up with all of him homework and there are still a few things he has to get into order with Itachi. It’s stressful and with Naruto nagging him about every little thing, he couldn’t take it. 

There’s also the fact that Sasuke feels he wasn’t able to properly greave his brother. It went from planning the funeral, getting Itachi’s things together, moving, completing the finals he had to put off for the funereal to starting the summer course he had signed up for before all this happened, and simply taking care of Takara. It left Sasuke worn out and tired. There has simply been too much going on for him to take a moment to realize his brother wasn’t coming back. 

It’s three weeks after the funereal when Naruto sits him down for a talk.

“Sasuke, I think we should talk,” Naruto says one morning. He’s cooking eggs –his specialty – only in a pair of comfortable sweat pants. Takara is still in her room, playing with her dolls so there isn’t any way Sasuke can get out of this. He knew this conversation had been coming. 

“I know,” he mutters, taking a seat at the table. Naruto’s grabbing plates now and dumping the eggs on them with a side of bacon and toast. Sasuke wonders when he learned how to cook more than ramen and scrambled eggs. 

“Look, I know this is hard for you,” Naruto starts, placing the plate on the table in front of Sasuke. There’s already a fork on the table and Sasuke picks it up to push around the eggs on his plate. He doesn’t feel like eating just yet. 

“Everything changed so quickly,” Sasuke mutters. Dark eyes are trained on the table, chin digging into the palm of Sasuke’s hand. He can’t bring himself to look at Naruto. He doesn’t even know why the other is still here with the way Sasuke’s either been snapping at him or ignoring him.

“I know. I know it did. Itachi was the only family you had and he was ripped away from you and he left you with a little girl and a blurring idea of what the future holds. We had just started dating and I know you had planned to be in school for another five or six years after this to get your law degree.”

“I didn’t want this to happen,” Sasuke mumbles. He hasn’t cried yet. He’s been trying to be strong for Takara. She needed him to be strong for her, so he’s bottled it all up. He could feel that dam breaking right now and he thinks it’s probably time to just let it break. It will probably help make things better if he just lets the wall down. “I don’t know what I’m going to do without him.”

Naruto reaches over, hand wrapping around the one Sasuke has resting on the table. “It’s going to be okay, Sasuke. I promise. Itachi loves you and he wouldn’t trust anyone else with his daughter”

Sasuke can’t seem to stop the tears that stream down his cheeks as he nods his head. Naruto was right. Itachi loved him and Itachi wouldn’t have left Sasuke his daughter if he didn’t know Sasuke could take care of her even if he never expected something like this to happen so soon, or at all. 

Sasuke finds himself in Naruto’s arms, fingers running through his hair. Naruto is whispering words of comfort in his ear. It feels good to let it all out, and Sasuke wraps his arms around Naruto’s neck, burying his head in Naruto’s shoulder.

They stay like that until Takara comes downstairs asking for breakfast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's all going to go up hill after this chapter, I promise.
> 
> Find me on tumblr at narubode-sasuteme.tumblr.com


	3. Getting Down a Routine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took a bit longer than planned for different reason. One is that school has been pretty crazy these last few weeks. The other is that I wasn't sure how to go about this chapter. I decided just to go for it yesterday and this is what came out of it. The next two chapters shouldn't take as long to publish since I know exactly what I want to write for them.

They manage to get into a routine. Sasuke watches Takara during the day while Naruto is at work and Naruto watches her while Sasuke’s at his night class. Dinner is made by either, some days Sasuke makes it before he goes to his class and other days Naruto makes it and they eat after Sasuke’s class. 

They’ve even managed to meet a few of Takara’s friends and their parents. It had been weird at first. Naruto and Sasuke noticed the odd looks when they turned around and the look they received when the other parent’s asked where they worked and they answered they were still in college. It ended with a lot of sympathy and a few offers to watch Takara whenever they needed. Naruto always smiled and told them it was nice of them to offer.

It’s a tiring affair taking care of a child. She’s five years old, but she still needs to be watched and entertained for hours on end. Sasuke can see the way Naruto drags his feet some days after work, a tired smile pulling up his lips when Takara greets him with a hug when he comes home. There are bags under his eyes and Sasuke doesn’t miss the way Naruto stretches out his sore muscles, obviously aching form the many nights on the couch.

Sasuke finds that he’s normally tired by the time he gets himself to class, eyes drooping as he listens to the professor. He always manages to stay awake, but he does miss some of the lecture sometime when his mind drifts to times before Itachi’s death. It’s hard to do his homework with Takara during the day, but he always manages somehow. It often ends with Takara watching an hour or two of TV so he can get his work done and then another few hours after dinner.

It’s been nearly two months since Itachi’s death when Sasuke comes home from his class one day to find Naruto sound asleep on the couch. 

It’s definitely a sight to see. Naruto’s arm is hanging off the edge of the couch, the other holding Takara in place against his chest. He’s lying on his back and the little girl is curled up against him. They both look peaceful, but Sasuke knows they won’t enjoy being on the couch the whole night. 

Sasuke makes a quick trip up to his bedroom to dispose of his bag and jacket, glancing at the clock. It’s only nine and he has some more homework he has to get done, but that can wait till tomorrow. He can feel sleep calling to him and the only thing that crosses his mind is how comfortable it probably would be with Naruto’s arms wrapped around him.

Back downstairs, arms slip around Takara, hosting her up. She’s quick to wrap her arms around his neck, head pressing against his cheek. A small smile pulls up the corners of his lips, making sure she is secure before he reaches down to run his fingers through blond hair. 

“Naruto,” he whispers, watching as blue eyes flutter open. There’s a tired smile take tugs up Naruto’s lips, hand moving to rub at his eyes. 

“S’uke, what time is it?” he mumbles, yawn leaving his lips as he stretches. Sasuke can’t help the fond smile that pulls at his lips. 

“It’s nine,” he answers, shifting to host Takara up before she slips any further. “It’s time to head to bed.” Naruto nods his head, shifting to sit up so he can reach the blanket he normally uses to cover himself at night.

A hand wraps around Naruto’s wrist, stopping the other from pulling the blanket over himself. Naruto’s tired eyes shift to catch black ones, eyebrows pulling together in question. “Do you want me to put Takara to bed?” 

“No, you don’t have too,” Sasuke answers. He still hasn’t let go of the other’s wrist and blue eyes shift to look at his hand. “Come on, you can sleep with me tonight.” 

He’s doesn’t miss the shocked look that flashes over Naruto’s face. This is the first time they’d sleep in the same bed and even though they haven’t had sex, Sasuke feels that he’s ready for this step. Naruto’s been more than patient with him and Takara. He shouldn’t have to sleep on the couch any longer. Sasuke can tell it’s been killing his back.

“Are you sure?” Naruto asks. Sasuke nods his head, ignoring the nervous butterflies that seem to fill his stomach all of a sudden. Naruto’s smile is soft as he pushes himself off the couch, grabbing his pillow and blanket to bring with him. 

They walk up the stairs hand in hand, Takara sleeping peacefully on Sasuke’s shoulder. When they reach Takara’s room, they both press a kiss to her forehead, tugging the sheet up to cover her from the cool air the fan is creating.

It’s a bit weird when they get back to Sasuke’s room. Naruto isn’t exactly sure what to do, shifting uncomfortably from one foot to the other. Fingers move to scratch the back of his head nervously as he watches Sasuke grab his pajamas, making a move to the connected bathroom to get changed. When he comes out, Naruto’s in his own pajamas, standing awkwardly at the side of the bed. 

Sasuke pulls back the sheets on his side, moving to climb into bed. Naruto follows suite, placing his pillow down and spreading his blanket over his half of the bed. 

They lie there for a while, both staring at the ceiling. It’s Naruto who breaks the tense silence, clearing his throat and shifting to look at Sasuke. “Goodnight, Sasuke. Thanks for letting me sleep in here.” 

A hand shifts to lie between them, too scared to wander any further onto Sasuke’s side of the bed. 

It takes a bit longer for Sasuke to shift closer to Naruto, hand moving to grab the innocent one lying between them. He places it against his stomach and Naruto shifts a little closer to him. 

“Good night,” he mumbles, finally shifting so he’s resting on his side. Sasuke makes a move to rest his head against Naruto’s chest, a smile tugging up his lips when an arm wraps around his waist.

He hasn’t slept this well since before his bother passed away. 

He doesn’t get Naruto all too himself though, because Takara makes her way into their bed, complaining of a night mare (It wouldn’t be the first time. Sasuke’s woken up to her sleeping on the other side of his bed as well as curl up on the couch with Naruto many times). 

Sasuke wakes up to a foot digging into his side and Naruto nearly falling off the bed because Takara’s made herself plenty comfortable between them.


	4. One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

The first time Takara goes on a play date, Sasuke is nervous. He doesn’t know the parents like Itachi did and Takara’s been reserved ever since he passed away. The mother had invited Takara only the other day and Naruto had insisted this would be a good idea. It could help her forget for a moment that her father is dead. Sasuke’s just worried about her forgetting forever. He couldn’t live with himself if Takara forgot about Itachi and all they had together. 

“Are you sure she’s okay?” Sasuke asks. The TV is on, but Sasuke can’t process what it is saying. He hasn’t paid any attention to the program since it was turned on. The only thing he can think about is Takara. He doesn’t know why he’s so nervous. It probably has to do with the fact he doesn’t know this women that well. Takara told him that Itachi used to talk to her often, but Sasuke wasn’t comfortable with this whole situation yet. He still had half of the summer to get used to it before she went back to school. 

“She’ll be fine,” Naruto insists for the millionth time since they dropped Takara off. 

Sasuke doesn’t want to get to know these people because then he knows it will be real. He knows that Itachi won’t be coming back if he lets these people in his life. It will be official that he’s taking care of this little girl for the rest of his life. 

“What if she wants to come home?” 

“Then she’ll call us. The mother has the phone number to the house, Sasuke.” Naruto’s hand cups Sasuke’s cheek, thumb rubbing soothingly across his cheek bone. He leans into the touch, dark eyes closing. “She’ll be fine. I promise.” 

“We should make something to eat.” It’s a complete change of topic, but Sasuke thinks cooking will distract him. If he doesn’t do something, he’ll only keep obsessing over it. 

Naruto is quick to smile; hand moving to grab Sasuke’s in order to pull him off the couch. “I got this recipe from Sakura and I’ve been dying to make it. I bought the ingredients the other day so we should try it out.”

Sasuke smiles at the other, following Naruto into the kitchen. 

The light kisses pressed to his cheek as they stir the meal and the hands that box him into the counter definitely do distract him for a while.

\-------------------

Takara falls asleep on the car ride home. She spends the first half of the ride talking about how much fun she had before the exhaustion seems to hit her all at once. There’s a smile on her lips when Sasuke opens the car door and unbuckles her. It’s one of the biggest smiles he’s seen in a long time. Apparently Naruto was right. She needed to get out of the house and play for a while, like a little kid should.

“Did she have fun?” Naruto asks the moment he walks into the house. Sasuke presses a single finger to his lips, indicating that Naruto needs to keep it down. He didn’t want to wake Takara up. “It looks like he had fun,” Naruto whispers this time. 

Sasuke nods his head. “Yeah, I was told they played outside most of the day. It’s probably why her pants are all grass stained.”

“Oh, I know how to get grass stains out. I used to get them all the time,” Naruto smiles, following Sasuke to the bedroom. Takara is placed on the bed and Sasuke takes a moment to pull her shoes and socks off. Naruto already has a pair of pajamas ready and the clothes are exchanged for the dirty ones. 

“I’ll put these in now so the stain doesn’t set any longer,” Naruto announces. Sasuke nods, adjusting Takara so she’s comfortable, pulling the covers up to her chin. The girl stirs, eyes blinking open for a moment before she shifts to her side, eyelids sliding closed again. 

“Goodnight, dad,” she mutters, fingers wrapping around the edge of the sheet.

Sasuke’s heart stops at those words. Itachi was Takara’s father, not Sasuke. Was she forgetting about Itachi already? It had only been a few months now. She can’t be forgetting already.

The moment Sasuke walks out of the room, Naruto knows something is wrong. Arms wrap around him, pulling him into a comfortable chest.

“She called me dad,” Sasuke mutters, arms slipping around Naruto’s waist, fingers gripping the back of the other’s shirt. “Itachi’s her dad.”

“It’s okay,” Naruto mutters. Sasuke can feel the tears now, threatening to slip down his cheeks. 

“It isn’t. She’s forgetting about Itachi.” The tears are starting to stream down his cheeks. Naruto somehow manages to get them into their room, sitting Sasuke down on the bed.

“She isn’t forgetting about Itachi, Sasuke.” There are fingers in his hair, lips pressed against his temple. Sasuke can’t catch his breath between the tears. This wasn’t supposed to be happening. This wasn’t supposed to be how it happened. “She could never forget about her father.”

That doesn’t help. It only has the tears coming faster. The problem is that she can forget. Itachi was ripped away from her at such a young age there’s a chance she’ll only have a few memories of him as she grows older and they’ll probably end up fuzzy and unclear. It wasn’t fair to her. 

Naruto doesn’t say anything after that, simply holding him until he falls asleep. 

Takara calls him Uncle Sasuke in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've decided this is probably going to end up being 6 chapters. The 6th chapter will be a little epilogue set probably 6 or 7 years later.


	5. Sick Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! I had finals and then a week of freedom before work started. It took me some time to get my motivation to write back, but I'm all good now.

The cell phone vibrates in Sasuke’s pocket and he quickly slips out of the classroom in order to answer it. The professor has a strict no phone policy, but ever since Itachi, Sasuke’s found that he feels more comfortable with it on. He finds it’s especially important to have it on now that Takara is back in school. Anything could happen and he needs to make sure the school is able to get in touch with him at all times.

He recognizes the number of the school across his screen and swears under his breath. Takara had complained this morning of not feeling well, but Sasuke had taken her temperature and deemed her fine to go to school. It was only because he had an important day today that he couldn’t miss –including the exam he was going to be taking in thirty minutes. 

“Hello,” he answers, worry sitting heavily in his jut. He can’t very well miss his exam. The teacher doesn’t allow make ups unless you get in touch with them the day before or with a doctor’s note. Sasuke’s comes short on both options. Though, he wonders if the nurse at the school can give him one for Takara and he can use that. 

“Is this Mr. Uchiha?” the women on the other line asks. She doesn’t sound like she is enjoying herself at the current moment. She’s probably had to make a few more calls than usual with the stomach bug going around. 

Sasuke hums in answer, pacing up and down the hall. Maybe he should go to his professor’s office now? He can just slip in to grab his backpack from his current class before he went to explain why he can’t take his exam. That is definitely a possibility. It could work.

“Takara has a fever of 101 which means she needs to be picked up from school,” the woman explains. 

Wait, Naruto can pick her up. He had volunteered this morning to stay home with Takara, but Sasuke knew he had an important class to attend. That was earlier though. The class was over and Sasuke knew Naruto would be able to head over and stay with Takara the rest of the day. This way he didn’t have to miss his exam and he would be home soon after anyway to help with Takara. 

“I’ll have someone come to pick her up,” Sasuke replies. He needs to call Naruto up now so he can head over. The school is twenty minutes away so he wants him to head out as soon as possible. Sasuke doesn’t want her sitting in the office for long.

“May I ask who will be picking her up?”

“My…” He stops himself before he can say boyfriend. He’s had a few people look at him a little odd when he introduces Naruto as his boyfriend or simply mentions him. He isn’t sure if it’s because they don’t approve of the relationship or the fact that they think Sasuke had a kid with his boyfriend when they were young and barely out of high school but he doesn’t care. Takara is theirs now and there isn’t anything they can do about it. Sasuke doesn’t care what they think. “Naruto Uzumaki will be by to pick her up in twenty minutes.” There shouldn’t be a problem. Naruto was on the list of people she could be released to. 

“Okay.” There’s suddenly no one on the other line and Sasuke pulls the phone away from his ear to look at it for a moment. Did she just hang up on him? Really? Whatever. He didn’t have time to worry about that. 

Shaking his head, Sasuke pulls up Naruto’s name in order to call him, frowning when the phone rings a few times with no answer. 

“Hello!” Naruto says, voice happy but he’s obviously out of breath. “What’s up, Sasuke?” He must he at the gym. That would explain why he hadn’t answered right away. 

“I need you to pick Takara up from school. She has a fever. I have an exam in my next class and I can’t go now. You can take the car. I’ll take the bus home.”

Sasuke can hear rustling on the other line and Naruto apologizing to someone for having to leave early. “I’m on my way now. I’ll give you a call when we get home.”

Sasuke hums before hanging up the phone and slipping back into his class.

Sasuke likes that Naruto is calling the house they live in together home. 

\---------------------

Sasuke finds Naruto and Takara on the couch when he walks into the house only two hours later. Takara is sound asleep, curled up against Naruto’s side with a blanket tucked around her. The TV is a low hum in the background, Naruto’s eyes focused on the book Sasuke knows he’s reading for school. 

“How is she?” he whispers once his shoes are kicked off and his coat is hung up. Naruto folds the corner of his page and places it on the coffee table.

“I gave her children’s Tylenol and her fever seems to have gone down a bit. She hasn’t eaten much though. I could only get her to eat dry toast when we got back,” Naruto answers, letting his arm rest on Sasuke’s shoulders when he sits next to Naruto. Lips press against Sasuke’s cheek in a soft kiss.

“That’s good.” Sasuke leans his weight into Naruto’s side, eyes closing. He had stayed up pretty late last night studying and he can feel the lack of sleep catching up to him now that his exam is over. “I’ll make chicken noodle soup for dinner”

“That sounds good to me,” Naruto says, cheek resting on the top of Sasuke’s head. “How did your exam go?”

“It went fine,” Sasuke mutters, yawn interrupting his words. Sleep is pulling at him now, with Naruto’s arm securely around his shoulders and exam long over. “It was hard to concentrate worrying about Takara though.” 

“I bet you aced it,” Naruto smiles. Takara shifts next to him and he glances over to make sure she’s still asleep. He lowers his voice a bit the next time he speaks “I told you I had her. You didn’t have to worry.”

“I know, but I can’t help it. I just hope neither of us catch it.” 

He definitely jinxed it, because the next morning Naruto wakes up with a fever of 102 and he ends up having to take care of both Naruto and Takara. Naruto ends acting more like a child than Takara does about the whole thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be the last one. It will be a little epilogue to tie everything together.


	6. Epilogue

Sasuke decides to ask Naruto to marry him when he’s playing outside with Takara. The two had gone out nearly three hours ago and Takara still had him running around the yard. They are playing baseball now and Naruto is all smiles as he adjusts her elbow and widens her stance. Naruto tosses the ball as lightly as he can and Takara manages to get a piece of it. Naruto pretends to fumble around for the ball as she runs around the bases made out of miscellaneous items. 

He proposes at their graduation party. The house has emptied out and it’s only a few of their close friends left. Takara is already sound asleep upstairs, tired from the day’s activities. Naruto is putting some of the left overs in the fridge when Sasuke finds him. 

Naruto doesn’t even have to think about it when he says yes. 

They get married the next summer and Takara is the flower girl. They’re still in school, but Sasuke knows it’s the right move. Naruto is the only person he can see himself with for the rest of his life. Plus, Takara already sees him as a father. There was no chance she was going to let him get away.

Naruto graduates with a master’s in education and gets a job at the school Takara is attending. He comes home every day with a smile on his face and Takara following behind him. There are days Sasuke notices the smug of ice cream on her lips. He’ll simply give Naruto a look and the other will shrug with his cheeky smile right in place. 

It’s a big deal when Sasuke graduates law school a year later. Naruto throws him a huge party and Sasuke frowns at him. He had told Naruto he hadn’t wanted a party, but the other had insisted. Sasuke didn’t even have a job yet. They shouldn’t have celebrated until he at least found a job.

They travel during the summer. Takara picks a few places she wants to go and they spend most of the time in the car, going from place to place. She’s old enough now to appreciate some of the historical land marks she pick, but Naruto doesn’t seem nearly as pleased when they walk around museums. He complains most of the time, but Takara simply has to grab his hand and smile at him to get Naruto to stop. 

Sasuke finally gets a call for a job and they have to cut their trip a week short. Takara doesn’t complain, collapsing on her bed just as dramatically as Naruto does when they arrive at home.

Sasuke works with kids, making sure they find good homes and are treated right. He likes his job more than he thought he would and Naruto and Takara like to tell him how proud they are of him. It feels good to be helping people.

Takara starts to call Sasuke Dad and Naruto Papa at some point. They don’t even notice until they visit Itachi’s grave and she’s calling all three people her father. 

Takara is in eight grade when they decide to adopt. She’s completely supportive about the whole thing. She talks about having a little sibling all the time, telling them how much she’ll love whomever they end up adopting. 

It isn’t until her sophomore years of high school they actually get a baby. It’s a lot of crying and changing and late nights, but Sasuke enjoys every second of it. Takara complains about the crying, but there is love in her eyes every time she looks at the baby. They’re thankful Takara is so good with the baby.

They adopt another baby four years later. Takara decides to move back home, claiming she wants to spend more time with her siblings. She’s a huge help around the house when she isn’t locked away in her room doing homework. 

They still visit Itachi’s grave every year on the anniversary of his death. He’s introduced to each new family member on special visits days after they receive the babies. Takara always stays behind for a while to catch him up on the happenings in her life. She likes to sit herself down in front of the stone, picking at the green grass. 

Long after she gets her first job and gets married, she still visits Itachi’s grave.

Sasuke’s thankful she never forgets about her father.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is sadly the end. Thanks for everyone who followed this little story! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it :D
> 
> Find me on tumblr at narudobe-sasuteme.tumblr.com

**Author's Note:**

> I've left Itachi's life pretty open ended. I didn't want to decided who he ended up with, but they died along side Itachi in a car accident (which isn't mentioned in the chapter). Takara, depending on who you would prefer Itachi to be with, can be his biological child or adopted or other alternatives. 
> 
> You can find me on tumblr at narudobe-sasuteme.tumblr.com


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